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墨書 Inktalez
"Don't meddle." I picked up my phone to check the time; it was half past midnight. I put the phone down and said to Li Hua, who was about to lie back down, "I'll take you back. Otherwise, if you oversleep tomorrow, it won't look good if Xiao Ran sees you."
She paused in her action of lifting the covers, thought for a moment, and nodded. "Alright, are you taking me back or should I just take a taxi?"
This is something I really appreciate about Li Hua; she speaks her mind without being pretentious.
"I'll take you," I said as I sat up, got dressed, and waited for Li Hua to get ready. We tiptoed out together. As we passed by Xiao Ran's door, Li Hua glanced inside again. The door was firmly closed. I noticed she wanted to listen for any sounds, so I hurriedly gestured and whispered, "Let's go."
Li Hua nodded in disappointment and followed me out of the apartment.
I must admit that whether as a teacher or my mistress, Li Hua cares a lot about Xiao Ran, even if Xiao Ran doesn't appreciate it.
After dropping Li Hua off, I returned home and slept until dawn. However, it wasn't a natural awakening; I was jolted awake by a series of loud knocks on the door.
"Who is it?" I asked groggily as I walked to the door in my pajamas. My head was buzzing; I had exhausted too much energy last night.
I opened the door to find a man in his thirties standing outside.
"Who are you looking for?"
"Are you Xu Zhou?" the man asked bluntly.
"Yes," I replied as I sized him up—his untidy white shirt, striped dress pants, and old sneakers—definitely a taxi driver.
"Is Xu Xiao Ran your daughter?"
I hesitated for a moment. This guy knocking on my door early in the morning asking about Xiao Ran—what did he want? "Yes."
"That's right," he nodded and then waved his hand beside him. "Girl, come here."
Since I was standing in the doorway, I couldn't see what was happening outside. After the driver spoke, Xiao Ran slowly appeared in my line of sight, her eyes red and swollen, looking disheveled and still wearing the nightgown she had on when she went to bed last night.
"How did you, when did you go out?" I exclaimed in shock, pulling her closer. "What happened? Where did you go?"
Xiao Ran lowered her head, her hands tightly clenched together, remaining silent.
"I met her on the street," the driver said. "A little girl, dressed so lightly, shivering there. She wouldn't say anything when I asked her. It was only when I offered to take her home that she agreed."
"Thank you, thank you. How much is it?"
"Just give me the fare, eighteen."
"Okay," I pulled Xiao Ran into the living room, hurried back to the bedroom to grab some money, returned to the door, and handed it to the driver. "I really appreciate your help."
The driver held the bill. "I just started today; I don't have change. No small bills?"
"No, just keep it. By the way, where did you pick her up?"
"Over at Jinping Road, you know? It's about ten miles from here."
"I know, I know. Thank you so much."
After sending off the driver, I turned and walked over to Xiao Ran, who still had her head down, her long hair messy. "Where did you go last night?" I asked sternly.
"I don't know," she mumbled.
"What do you mean you don't know? When did you go out? Who allowed you to go out alone at midnight? A little girl shouldn't be so reckless; don't you know it's dangerous outside?"
I had a rough idea of what had happened. The noise from Li Hua and me last night must have woken her up; perhaps she was very angry and thought of running away to get my attention.
"I'm asking you! Speak!" Ultimately, it was my indulgence that led her to develop such a bold and reckless habit. "Who taught you this? Running away from home at a whim—if you have the ability to leave, then don’t come back! Your courage is getting bigger and bigger!"
She still didn't speak, leaving me with a suffocating feeling as if I were hitting my fist against cotton.
"Do you know you were wrong?"
She was picking at her fingers, her long hair covering her face.
"I'm asking you a question, mute! Do you know you were wrong?"
With a soft thud, I saw a tear drop onto the back of her hand.
"You still have the nerve to cry. Xu Xiaoran, let me tell you, don't think that pretending to be pitiful and acting wronged will let this go. You must tell me clearly today where you went last night, what you did, and who you were with. Speak!"
She bit her lip, her small shoulders trembling.
I was extremely irritated; partly because of her silence, and partly due to the accumulated dissatisfaction and anger over these days. She was neither my employee nor someone I had a deeply emotional bond with. I didn't know how to treat her, so I could only glare at the top of her head. She was desperately suppressing her emotions, and I felt it. At that moment, I didn't even know what I was thinking; my mind buzzed, and by the time I came to my senses, my palm had already struck her face.
She fell to the ground, curling up into a ball.
My hand trembled uncontrollably, filled with regret. How could I have hit her?
"Go back to your room. Don't go to class today; I'll call your teacher." After saying this, I fled back to my room in a panic.
Standing by the window, through the gap in the curtains, I observed her movements. She slowly got up, swaying unsteadily as she leaned against the wall, her feet shuffling awkwardly as she made her way back to the room.
Had she hurt her leg or twisted her ankle? Why did she walk so awkwardly? Was she pretending to be pitiful?
To evade responsibility, all sorts of thoughts crossed my mind.
At that time, I was thirty-five years old, the chairman of a real estate company with assets exceeding one hundred million. My life seemed glamorous and successful, yet who would have thought that I was incapable of fulfilling the role of a father—stumbling and causing harm to both myself and others?
After that, I changed my clothes, went downstairs to buy breakfast, and placed it on the table. Just as I was about to leave for the office, I reached the door, thought for a moment, and turned back to knock on Xiao Ran's bedroom door twice. "I've bought breakfast for you. Come out, take a shower, and eat before going back to sleep."
"I know, thank you," Xiao Ran replied weakly.
I grasped the doorknob and hesitated for a while, ultimately lacking the courage to open the door and see Xiao Ran's condition. "There’s a takeout menu under the coffee table. I've left some money on the table for you. I won't be back tonight, so order takeout yourself."
"Okay."
"There’s a clinic downstairs. If your injury is serious, go there."
"I'm fine, thanks." Xiao Ran's tone always struck me as strangely distant, almost like speaking to a stranger—polite and formal in every way. This must be how children handle things, mimicking adults' cold violence during arguments, deliberately using courteous language to provoke their parents.
Understanding this, I decided not to say more and took my coat to head to the office.
That afternoon, I sat in my office and called my assistant in through the intercom.
My assistant's name is Wen Yi. Naturally, she is an attractive woman with a prominent figure. She graduated with a master's degree and has good professional skills; she is efficient and thorough in her work. However, we don’t have much of a personal relationship—after all, I prefer not to mix business with pleasure.
"Please help me find an apartment; it would be best if I could move in tonight."
"Do you have any specific requirements?"
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